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Alaine Dutroux
Professor Doctor Alaine Marlène Dolores Winnifred Dutroux et Laguarde, Fifth President of the Republic of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands (née Dutroux; born 22 August, 1926 in La Roche Godon - died 19 July, 2012 (age 85) in Les Falaises d'Entrecasteaux) was the fifth President of the Republic of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands and five times re-elected députée for the province of Île Amsterdam in the Federal Assembly. Dutroux studied law at the University of the Antarctic Islands, where she graduated in 1950. She attained her Master's in 1952 and her PhD in 1956, simultaneously with her election is representive to the Federal Assembly for Île Amsterdam as an independent. She was promoted to Professor of Law in 1967; she was also elected as representative five consecutive times. She ran as presidential candidate in 1975, and was eventually elected with 73.2% of the national popular vote. She was inaugurated in 1 December, 1972. Dutroux' tenure as president of the Republic was between 1976 and 1984, lasting a total of eight years, the longest a president is allowed to be head of state constitutitonally. Her presidency was marked by the War of the Indian Ocean waged between the Republic and over the Prince Edward Islands, which resulted in a victory for the Southern Indian Ocean Islands. Under her presidency the University of Kerguelen was created, and the Province of Prince Edward Islands was de facto integrated into the Republic. Despite having emerged victorious, the War of the Indian Ocean self-reportedly had taken its toll on her. After the end of the her second term as president she retired at the age of 58 and spent the rest of her life in her house in Les Falaises d'Entrecasteaux on Île Amsterdam, where she focused on writing and painting. Famous bestsellers by Dutroux are The War in the Middle of Nowhere and A City, An Island. Dutroux died on 19 July, 2012 as a widow to her deceased husband Manfred Laguarde, who died in 1999. In accordance with her wishes she was buried next to her husband on the Cimitière d'Amsterdam, under a weeping willow. Early life and career Childhood Dutroux was born to her mother Marlène Dutroux and her father Marin Maistre on 22 August, 1926 in La Roche Godon on Île Amsterdam. She had two siblings: her older brother Édouard, and her younger sister Éveline. Dutroux was raised irreligiously by her parents, who were both practising protestants. She never attended church. In 1931, when she was four, she started attending La Roche Primary School, one of the two primary schools on Île Amsterdam. She excelled, as reported by her teachers, in language (both French and English), geography, and arts and crafts. She was allowed to skip grade 7, finishing primary school education in 1937, at age 11. Puberty Dutroux attended PSE level classes at Amsterdam High School in La Roche Godon, starting in 1938 at age 11. She reportedly was a problematic child during her first two years at high school. Teachers reported that she barely paid any attention, was often focused on unrelated things during classes, and preferred to write whatever she preferred instead of following teachers' directions. She nonetheless managed to get at least a 7.0 in each class (out of 10), with an average of 8.2 in most classes. Due to her excellent marks, no serious repercussions ever came from her problematic behaviour. During third grade she had to choose between arts vs music and geography vs economics for her subject list. She selected arts and geography, both subjects that she was exceptionally proficient in. When she had to compose her own curriculum in fourth grade, which she would continue to follow until her graduation, she chose the following subjects, in addition to the joint subjects (French, English, Mathematics, and Civics): arts, geography, chemistry, biology, history and Latin. She graduated in 1943 summa cum laude, with an average mark of 9.2 on all her subjects together. Her marks, on a per-subject basis, were as follows: University bachelor career After high school, Dutroux applied at the Faculty of Law of the University of the Antarctic Islands. She was accepted, and moved from Île Amsterdam to Île Possession, taking residence on the Île Possession University Campus. Here she attended classes together with Winnifred Lamarcque, who would later become her vice-president. Although the French Republic was officially at war, this war did not reach the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, where life continued as usual. It was thus that the Second World War had little to no influence on her studies, as the war had in itself little to no influence on the daily goings-on of life on the islands. Dutroux exceeded expectations during her first year as a bachelor, and was reportedly especially proficient at politicology and constitutional questions. She graduated her bachelor summa cum laude, with her now famous bachelor thesis titled Une république indépendante à l'Océan Indien : quelles sont les chances et les possibilités?''English translation: ''An independent republic in the Indian Ocean: what are the probabibilities and possibilities? ''Une république indépendante à l'Océan Indien : quelles sont les chances et les possibilités? Dutroux' bachelor thesis, written in 1946 just after the end of the Second World War, is hailed as one of the first serious academic explorations of the longer-existent pro-independence sentiment running through the French territory of the ''Terres Australes. Despite it being a bachelor thesis and therefore not high up in the academic scholarly hierarchy, it gained attention by the republishing of the thesis by her professor, prof. dr. Beau Marre. The thesis focuses on a variety of aspects regarding the then-existent independence movement on the southern Indian Ocean Islands and whether it was even feasible to set up an independent nation in such a remote area of the world''Une république indépendante à l'Océan Indien : quelles sont les chances et les possibilités?. Dutroux, A.M.D.W. (1946). University of the Antarctic Islands; Île Possession: p. 2, ''Le résumé.. The main focus is on the economic potential of newly to be founded nation, however, attention is also paid to cultural solidarity, military power, whether a single nation is feasible due to the scattered nature of the different islands, and whether there actually is a need for independence. The thesis gathered a variety of important pieces of information and effectively summarised them and built upon them to have an indication of the feasibility of an independent southern Indian Ocean island nation. She noted that the islands, when together, would be reasonably well off with oil resources and a potential tourism industry. She also noted that the islands were of a biologically, ornithologically and geologically interesting nature, which if handled professionally and responsibly could be used to attract scientistsDutroux (1946); pp. 3, 4 and 5. (this later became one of the main reasons she provided for setting up the University of KerguelenLe loi en ce qui concerne l'éducation/Law concerning education; Preamble. National Library of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands and Bibliothèque de la Maison de Noël.). Also touched upon was the geography of the islands, and especially the shattered nature of the overall territory. She noted here that the best approach would be to create a , giving territories which are far apart a degree of autonomy whilst still maintaining them together under a federal system of law and governance. Although this was not the first time a federal republic was proposed, Dutroux' thesis was the first to provide a detailed proposal for what the federal system should or could look like. Her proposals included the creation of three constituent provinces, each with its own constitution and its own, limited provincial judicial circuit. Each province was to have a provincial legislature of a nature at the province's discretion. These provinces would be united under a republic, which she proposed would have constitutional overreach, with a legislature to be elected directly by the peopleDutroux (1946); pp. 5, 6, 7 and 8.. When looking at the cultural make-up of the islands, she mainly used works and data collected by famous French anthropologist Marianne Ébernard. She found that the cultures of the different islands differed in some aspects, mostly due to geographic differences. The Second World War had caused an influx of Jewish French to the islands, however, Dutroux could find no proof that this might make cultural independence more difficult. She concluded her section on the culture of a new country with a note that the islands were culturally distinct enough to be an independent country, yet amongst themselves sufficiently culturally homogenous to not create internal divisions along cultural and/or ethnic linesDutroux (1946); pp. 8, 9 and 10. When it came to the wishes of the French Republic she noted that the French government had, through their governours, indicated a preparedness to grant independence to the islands under the prerequisite that the country would maintain diplomatic ties with the French Republic and that the country would be able to defend itself in case of an attack. If those requirements were met she foresaw no problems from the French side regarding independenceDutroux (1946); p. 10.. Finally, she delved into the problem of maintenance of an independent nation militarily. She proposed that, if the to be founded republic would be given de facto autonomy between 1950 and 1956, it could use its oil reserves to buy naval and aeronautical vessels from the French military forces, as well as buy expertise from the French forces to form its own military institutionsDutroux (1946); pp. 11 and 12.. The conclusion of the thesis confirmed that independence was feasibleDutroux (1946); pp. 12 and 13.. University Master career Dutroux mastered in at the same faculty. Her master thesis focused on the question of international maritime law on the sea areas that could be owned by a new, independent republic on the Southern Indian Ocean Islands, including to what extent a new republic could assume maritime sovereignty, maritime control, and to which extent the should reach. Her master thesis La souveraineté maritime d'une nation indépendante qui se compris les Archipels Crozet et Kerguelen et les Îles Amsterdam et Saint-Paul did not quite reach the popularity nor had the impact of her bachelor thesis; this is mostly attributed to the fact that her master thesis focused on a less generally important question. It was however publicised and seen with high regard within the global International Maritime Law academic community, especially due to her positive international reputation because of her bachelor thesis. After completion of her master she was asked by her professor, prof. dr. Beau Marre, to continue as a PhD student under his tutorship. She agreed and accepted the proposal. PhD and attorney careers Despite accepting the PhD tutorship, Dutroux chose to return to Île Amsterdam first for what would eventually be a three-year hiatus starting in 1948. She did, however, practise law during this time, serving as one of only two attorneys on the island. She argued many times before the island court, and represented several parties in the territorial court. Two times during those three years she travelled to France to argue before the , being the first female attorney to do so. After her three-year hiatus, she returned to Île Possession in 1951 to work on her PhD. The results of her PhD study would later become an important legal support document in the independence of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands in 1956. Titled Le cadre juridique pour l'indépendance des Terres australes françaises, et les avantages et désavantages de cette autonomie, her final thesis was universally acclaimed in especially the Southern Lands of France, and would later be used - amongst various other documents - to successfully argue for full independence. It set forth a view supporting the independence wish of the Southern Lands, whilst also looking at the advantages and disadvantages of full autonomy and sovereignty. Career as politician Dutroux' political career began in 1956, after moving back to Île Amsterdam following the nation's independence, where she campaigned in lieu of the upcoming 1957 elections for the Federal Assembly, putting herself forward as an independant candidate. She ran on a platform that the analysts of the time called "conservative, but forward-thinking", and "with a vested interest in government, yet without it controlling everyone's life". In contemporary political analyses, it has often been described as , essentially placing her somewhere between the Liberal and Conservative parties. Following a year-long "campaign", which reportedly consisted mostly of having tea with her small home community and visiting the farmers in the two rural communes, she was elected as one of the two representatives to the Federal Assembly with 66% of the vote. Issue, styles, and coat of arms Issue Dutroux bore no children. Styles As both professor of Law and doctor of International of Law, Dutroux bore the titles "Professor" and "Doctor", as well as "Mistress of Law". Both as president and former president, she had the title of "Fifth President of the Republic of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands". She was also granted the style of "The Most Honourable" (in French, "La Plus Honorable") for life. The style of address was "Your Honour". Coat of arms Notes As citizen of the Republic of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands, Dutroux had the right to bear a personal coat of arms. As president, she had the right of use of the motto of the Republic and the corresponding vanilla branches, as well as an inescutcheon of the Republic. Blason Per fess Argent and Vert, a tree eradicated counterchanged. Thereon an inescutcheon, quarterly 1st Vert, three volcanoes Argent, the dexter erupting, surmounted "MMM" of same, all above a sea of the same; 2nd per pale Azure and Gules, a ship Argent upon a sea of the same; 3rd Azure, three fleurs-de-lys Or; and 4th Gules semé of bees Or; and thereon an inescutcheon paly Azure, Argent and Gules. Motto Surmounted over the whole a scroll Or charged with the words Sable "Florebo quocumque fera", hanging thereoff vines of vanilla Vert. Notes and references Category:President of the Southern Indian Ocean Islands